Whether opting for a simple city break or an exotic retreat, vegans who travel take their convictions with them. And there’s plenty of ways to enjoy yourself while championing animal welfare. Here
More »

By huffpost Reducetarian, flexitarian, vegetarian ― there’s a diet out there for everyone. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure we get it all straight. One diet (or lifestyle) that’s been gaining in popularity
More »

If you’re a vegan or thinking about making the switch, it’s important to note that following a plant-only diet can present a number of nutritional challenges. A vegan diet can make it more difficult to supply your body with the right amount of nutrients each day, for example. So it’s important to carefully plan your meals to ensure you consume a wide variety of highly nourishing foods. There are three crucial areas to be aware of on a day-to-day basis:

4. The vegan option at a restaurant is ALWAYS a wrap.

5. The vegan option at a wedding is ALWAYS grilled vegetables.

I don’t want to seem ungrateful, and I’m certainly not going to complain, but that looks like A LOT of zucchini. Is all. Whatever, forget it. Thank you for inviting me to your wedding and for providing a vegan option when you didn’t have to. I am a terrible person. I take this one back.

6. And let’s not even talk about continental breakfast at a hotel…

Free breakfast sounds sooooo good until you realize that literally the only thing you can eat is hash browns with a side of hash browns, with a black coffee. Yes, fine – also a fruit cup. But, like, this is a secret and don’t tell anyone, but vegans feel pretty much the same way about fruit cups as everyone else does.

7. Getting constantly trapped under the weight of your own logic…

…and having to be like, “Yes, true. OK, that is a great point, but also…remember how this all began with me just politely turning down the cheese dip? YOU STARTED THIS NIGHTMARE CONVERSATION. You just forgot that you did.” GODDAMN IT, CHELSEA.

11. The “vegan at a dinner party” joke.

12. No, seriously. The “vegan at a dinner party” joke.

13. People saying stuff like this and thinking they’ve vanquished you with their genius.

“Oh no, I have been defeaaaaated. I would like to formally apologize for initiating this discussion by asking the waiter to hold the cheese on my veggie burger. Please immediately begin force-feeding me hard-boiled eggs until I explode under the weight of my own contradictions. It’s all I deserve.”

Doesn’t it feel good when you know a few favorite recipes by heart and you feel confident they will not fail you whatever the situation? Sometimes I just run out of ideas, and go back to prepping something I know will be a crowdpleaser over and over again.

Whether opting for a simple city break or an exotic retreat, vegans who travel take their convictions with them. And there’s plenty of ways to enjoy yourself while championing animal welfare. Here are nine things that all vegan travellers will know.

You want pizza with “cheese,” but the pizza chain you hit doesn’t offer vegan options. You eat a sandwich and want to add an additional savory flavor to the stack, but don’t have vegan cheese. You are at a party and see incredibly delicious looking cheese slices enticing you to take a bite.You cringe at not being able to have the savory, creamy taste of cheese again. Until…

You cringe at not being able to have the savory, creamy taste of cheese again. Until … vegan cheese comes to the rescue! Learn how to make fantastic, savory cheese logs to raw vegan cheese that will blow your mind. These vegan cheese recipes will not only satisfy your craving for cheese, but might also fool guests at your next get-together. These vegan cheeses are pure and easy to prep and put together.

No need to buy store-bought vegan cheeses with these recipes.

1. Roasted Garlic and Fresh Herb Cream Cheez

2. Tofu Gouda

You would never guess that this dairy-free gouda is made from tofu and potatoes. Like the real thing, this Tofu Gouda has the same buttery, nutty taste and can even be served in your favorite dishes. We highly recommend melting it over pizza, adding to paninis and hot sandwiches, or lasagna.

3. Cashew Brie

This Cashew Brie is perfect for parties! Nutty, fruity, and sweet, this soft, spreadable cheese is delightful served with crackers, fresh baguette, and chocolate. Serve it with blackberries, pear, and fresh thyme or have fun coming up with your own delicious toppings.

4. Raw Cashew Almond Cheese

This soft, spreadable Raw Cashew Almond Cheese is a must-have for your next gathering. Preparing this dairy-free cheese is a no-brainer – you pretty much just blend the ingredients together, coat it with your favorite spices, and let it set! Serve alongside crackers, sliced apples, and grapes.

5. Chipotle Aquafaba Cheese

Did you ever think you could make vegan cheese without nuts or seeds? Well, this Chipotle Aquafaba Cheese is a real game changer. Made from aquafaba, the fancy name for the liquid from a can of chickpeas, agar agar, and non-dairy yogurt, the flavor is dark, deep, spicy, and cheesy. It even melts, if you give it enough time and moist heat, so it’s the perfect topping for veggie burgers!

6. Baked Cashew Mozzarella

Remember mozzarella sticks – well now you can eat them as a vegan. This is a recipe for some Baked Cashew Mozzarella because sometimes, we all need some breaded cheese in our lives. These cashew mozzarella sticks are crispy on the outside and gooey on the inside just like you dreamed they would be.

7. Raw Spiced Cashew Cheese

Besides the cashew soaking process, this Raw Spiced Cashew Cheese is a breeze to make! Simply blend the ingredients, shape it, and wait a few hours until your cheese is dense and ready to be spread. Add some extra flavor (and color) by coating your cheese in your favorite spices, red pepper, rosemary, and turmeric all add a gorgeous color and taste.

8. Aquafaba Mozzarella

Who knew that mixing cashews with aquafaba (chickpea brine) could make a delicious vegan Mozzarella cheese?! What it really comes down to is the flavoring. A bit of lemon juice, some nutritional yeast, and sea salt go a long way. And once it’s done, you’ll be layering this cheese on pizza, making Caprese salads, and serving it with wine, all the time, trust us.

9. Potato and Carrot Cheese

The sky is the limit when it comes to the ingredients you can make dairy-free cheese with. Cashews, almonds, seeds, and even potatoes — yes, potatoes. This creamy Potato and Carrot Cheese is made from a base of potatoes and carrots with nutritional yeast, oregano, garlic powder, and onion powder for flavor. It’s completely nut-free and easy to make, so if you’re allergic to nuts, this is the cheese of your dreams! Use it as a spread for sandwiches and wraps or serve it with crackers.

10. Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese

This cashew-based Garlic and Herb Cream Cheese can be whipped up in a cinch! Simply blend the soaked nuts with basil, thyme, sea salt, garlic, and a few other ingredients to create a flavorful herbed cream cheese. You can crumble this cheese and use it as a salad topper, spread some on bread, crackers, or veggie patties, or layer it onto pizza – the list of options is endless!

Recommendation: Download the Food Monster App

If you enjoy articles like this and want more, we highly recommend downloading the Food Monster App. For those that don’t have it, it’s a brilliant food app available for both Androidand iPhone. It’s a great resource for anyone looking to cut out or reduce allergens like meat, dairy, soy, gluten, eggs, grains, and more find awesome recipes, cooking tips, articles, product recommendations and how-tos. The app shows you how having diet/health/food preferences can be full of delicious abundance rather than restrictions.

The Food Monster app has over 8000+ recipes and 500 are free. To access the rest, you have to pay a subscription fee but it’s totally worth it because not only do you get instant access to 8000+ recipes, you get 10 NEW recipes every day! You can also make meal plans, add bookmarks, read feature stories, and browse recipes across hundreds of categories like diet, cuisine, meal type, occasion, ingredient, popular, seasonal, and so much more!

11. Pink Peppercorn Nut Cheese

Homemade cheese has never been this easy! This creamy Pink Peppercorn Nut Cheese is can be made from any kind of nuts, like cashews, almonds, or even hazelnuts. Pink peppercorns are the star ingredient, though you could also add herbs of any kind to give it more flavor. This versatile cheese is amazing on crackers, sandwiches, or even on bagels.

12. Paprika Cheese

Nut-free, soy-free, and dairy-free cheese that slices and grates — amazing! This Paprika Cheese is so easy to make and is great for a cheese platter, on crackers in a toasted sandwich or anywhere where you would normally use sliced or grated cheese. Best of all, it has no nuts or soy-based ingredients so it is a great option for anybody with food allergies ingredients commonly found in dairy-free cheese.

13. Cashew Blue Cheese

Yes, this is real! This vegan version of Blue Cheese is made with cashews. It’s soft, spreadable, and tangy perfect for serving on crackers with grapes on the side. The “moldy cheese” look is achieved by mixing some of the cashew cheese with dry herbs and spirulina, for a true blue color. This appetizer is guaranteed to blow your guests away.

14. Smoked Coconut Gouda

This Smoked Coconut Gouda will satisfy your need for a nut-free vegan cheese that melts, stretches, slices, and grates. You can use it to top pizzas, eat it with crackers, or pair it with one of the sandwiches on this list for some extra-smoky goodness. This stuff might make you swoon over how satisfyingly melty it is.

15. Cashew Dill Mozzarella

While you can certainly make a tasty lasagna or panini without the use of cheese, once you’ve tried this Cashew Dill Mozzarella, you will be adding it to everything! This dairy-free cheese is made from protein-rich cashews, given a subtly sweet undertone from dill, and is incredibly stretchy thanks to tapioca. Melt this cheese on pizza, in a grilled cheese, or simply enjoy it with some crackers!

16. Herbed Soft Cashew Cheese

Making vegan cheese has never been so easy. This Herbed Soft Cashew Cheese is delicious, dairy-free, and has no added oil. Serve on bagels, bagel chips, crackers, or celery.

17. Macadamia Nut Queso Fresco

This recipe for Macadamia Nut Queso Fresco is a must-try.This cheese is perfect for a fruit and jam cheese plate, topped with a chipotle pineapple salsa and served with some chips, it’s perfect. The texture is light and easily spreadable and it has a touch of sweetness but is savory in all the right ways.

18. Baked Herb-Crusted Cashew-Almond Cheese

This recipe for Baked Herb-Crusted Cashew-Almond Cheese is unbelievable. Lemon juice combined with nutritional yeast give it a tangy, “authentic” flavor that’s just begging to be served with sweet, fruity flavors. You can even alternate what flavors you serve this cashew-almond cheese with, so experiment to your heart’s delight! The base of this cheese would also pair beautifully with dried cranberries, figs, and sun-dried tomatoes.

19. Sliceable Zucchini Cheese

This is a two-in-one recipe! First up we have a delicious Sliceable Zucchini Cheese. Yep, you heard right! It’s a beautiful pale green, and it tastes absolutely delicious on crackers. Then, we have a creamy, dreamy orange nacho cheese that you can dip chips and veggies in, or use as a sauce for mac and cheese! The possibilities are endless!

20. Loaded Queso Dip

Who doesn’t need an awesome cheese dip at one point or another in their lives? In this particular Loaded Queso Dip, potato, onions, vegetable broth, and spices join together to create the perfect creamy base which you can then top with anything you want! Stick to these traditional queso toppings or go for a fusion dip, up to you!

21. Raw Almond Parmesan

This Raw Almond Parmesan is so easy to make — all you need is a high-powered blender. Add in some nutritional yeast, garlic powder, a little sea salt and you have yourself a nice healthy topping. And it’s so easy to make too. It will add tons of flavor to your salads, soups, pastas, and so much more. Sprinkle away!

22. Raw Nut-Free Sesame Cheese

This simple, Raw Nut-Free Sesame Cheese makes the impossible possible with a blend sesame seeds, nutritional yeast, apple cider vinegar, and agar agar. Un-hulled sesame seeds have a very nutty, almost smoky flavor that makes this cheese unique. If you like sesame seeds then you’ll really like this cheese, and if you can’t eat nuts you’ll like it even more! This is an abosolute mus-try on crackers.

23. Tangy Cashew Tofu Ricotta

It’s tough to break up with cheese. Thankfully, you don’t have to, even if you’re cutting back on cheese. This Tangy Tofu and Cashew Ricotta is perfect for all your ricotta needs — and it’s so easy to make! Try it in manicotti, baked ziti, and lasagna. It’s so tasty, you might even just want to eat it on toast!

24. Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese

This is an incredibly simple recipe, but when making this Pepper Jack Cashew Cheese, work quickly and without interruptions if possible. The cheese sets fast and needs your complete attention!

25. Moxarella Cheese

This is homemade Moxarella Cheese is almost instant and without any artificial anything. It browns and stretches. This cheese stays in a “melted” type form until baked, and then it forms a nice crust, like dairy cheese does. It’s not intended to be eaten plain (like real dairy fresh mozzarella can).

Well done, Canada! After consulting with the public on plans to revise the national food guide, the Canadian government has now released a new draft of their healthy eating recommendations and the guide favors a “high proportion of plant-based foods”! The food guide’s first recommendation notes the importance of whole foods and states that plant-based foods are the preferred source of protein. The guide recommends, “regular intake of vegetables, fruit, whole grains and protein-rich foods, especially plant-based sources of protein.” Wow!

By huffpostReducetarian, flexitarian, vegetarian ― there’s a diet out there for everyone. That’s why it’s more important than ever to make sure we get it all straight. One diet (or lifestyle) that’s been gaining in popularity among nutritionists, celebritiesand millennials is the whole foods plant-based diet.The diet mostly appeals to anyone who’s looking to live a healthier lifestyle, but its smaller environmental footprint makes it particularly appealing to millennials. If you’ve heard people talking about a whole foods plant-based diet, you may have thought this was basically just another word for veganism, but you’d be wrong. Really wrong. And we’re going to explain why.

Vegans abstain from eating any animal products. According to The Vegan Society, “Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.” This means that many vegans also don’t purchase leather goods. But it doesn’t necessarily mean they’re eating lots of whole foods plant-based meals. Vegans could get through life eating processed foods and snubbing their veggies just like anyone else. Think potato chips, (vegan-friendly) gummy candy, and even cookies.

There are no strict guidelines or definitions for what constitute a whole foods plant-based diet other than focusing on eating lots of fresh produce and minimally processed foods. Some people on a whole foods plant-based diet don’t eat any animal products, while others will eat a restricted amount. It’s flexible in that way, but strict in its focus on eating whole foods.

We’re not saying that a vegan can’t be on a whole foods plant-based diet or vice versa, but the two are not interchangeable and we want to make sure you know it.